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One of the best ways to maximize your credit card rewards is to pick a card that offers bonus points in the categories that you spend the most in.

I wanted to look at the best credit cards for eating out. Not everyone eats out a lot. Hopefully this is useful for many people because most people spend a decent amount at restaurants and grocery stores.

The dining category is one of the bonus categories that earns me the most rewards. There are a lot of credit cards that offer bonuses on dining purchases.

In all cases, I will only be looking at cards that earn at least 2% back.

What’s the best credit card for restaurant purchases?

If you want to figure out which credit card is best to use for dining, let me give you the simplest advice possible.

  • For personal cards, if you want to earn travel rewards, it’s tough to beat the American Express® Gold Card, Citi Premier® Card, or Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, as the cards offer 3-4x points on dining globally with no foreign transaction fees
  • For personal cards, if you want to earn cash back, it’s tough to beat the no annual fee Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card, which offers 3% cash back on dining globally with no foreign transaction fees
  • For business cards, the American Express® Business Gold Card potentially offers up to 4x points on dining purchases, or alternatively the Ink Business Cash® Credit Card offers 2x points on dining purchases (on the first $25,000 spent per cardmember year), though in both cases I’d only use these cards for restaurant purchases in the United States

Those are some of the most useful cards for this category. Many other good options will be covered below.

What qualifies as dining & restaurant spending?

I think it is important to talk about what qualifies as dining spending before I discuss the best cards for dining purchases.

  • While it varies by card issuer, generally speaking the dining category includes cafes, bars, lounges, fast food restaurants, takeout, and delivery
  • Generally convenience stores, nightclubs, and restaurants located within other establishments won’t be categorized as dining & restaurants
  • This also all comes down to how particular merchants choose to categorize themselves

If you frequently make a purchase with the same merchant, I suggest you verify the merchant category.

Cafes are generally categorized as dining for credit card rewards

Best personal cards for dining July 2022

Some people prefer to earn rewards for credit card spending. Some people prefer to earn travel rewards that they can use towards their next adventure, while others prefer to earn cash back.

What are the best credit cards for eating out? Only the cards that are currently open to new applicants will be shared.

1. American Express® Gold Card

The reward for restaurant spending is 4x Amex Membership rewards points.

The card's annual fee is $250.

The Amex Gold has no foreign transaction fees and you can earn 4x points on dining around the world.

Apply for the Amex Gold if you read a review of it.

2. Citi Premier® Card

Reward for dining out is 3x Citi ThankYou points.

There is an annual fee for the card.

Being able to earn 3x points on dining globally with no foreign transaction fees is awesome.

Apply for the Citi premier if you read a review.

3. Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

Reward for dining out is 3x Chase Ultimate rewards points.

There is an annual fee for the card.

You can earn 3x points on dining globally if you know what you're doing.

Apply for the Chase Sapphire Preferred if you read a review.

4. Chase Sapphire Reserve®

Reward for dining out is 3x Chase Ultimate rewards points.

The card yearly fee is $550.

You can earn 3x points on dining globally if you know what you're doing.

You need to read a review of the Chase Reserve to apply.

5. American Express® Green Card

3x Amex Membership rewards points is a good reward for restaurant spending.

There is an annual fee for the card.

You can earn 3x points on dining globally if you know how to use the Amex Green.

Apply for the Amex Green if you read a review of it.

6. Bilt Mastercard®

3x Bilt points is the reward for restaurant spending.

There is a card annual fee.

You can earn 3x points on dining globally if you have at least five posted transactions per billing cycle, and the Bilt Mastercard has no foreign transaction fees.

Apply for the Bilt Mastercard if you read a review of it.

7. Aeroplan® Credit Card

Air Canada Aeroplan points are a reward for restaurant spending.

There is an annual fee for the card.

You can earn 3x points on dining globally if you use the Aeroplan Card.

Apply for the Aeroplan Card if you read a review of the Aeroplan Card.

8. Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card

The reward for restaurant spending is 7x points.

The card fee is $450 annually.

You only get bonus points for dining at U.S. restaurants if you have foreign transaction fees at the hotel.

If you want to apply for thehilton aspire, read a review

9. Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card

The reward for restaurant spending is 2x Venture miles.

There is a card annual fee.

The Capital One Venture X offers 2x Venture miles on all purchases around the world.

Apply for the Capital One Venture X if you read a review.

The 3% cash back is a reward for restaurant spending.

There is a card annual fee.

Capital One SavorOne has no foreign transaction fees, and you can earn 3% cash back on dining around the world.

Apply for the Capital One SavorOne if you read a review of it.

11. Chase Freedom FlexSM Credit Card

3x points is a good reward for restaurant spending.

There is a card annual fee.

The Chase Freedom Flex offers 3x points on dining, and if you have it in conjunction with a Chase card, you can convert those points into Ultimate rewards points.

Apply for the Chase Freedom Flex if you read a review.

12. Chase Freedom Unlimited®

3x points is a good reward for restaurant spending.

There is a card annual fee.

You can convert 3x points on dining into Ultimate Rewards points if you have it in conjunction with a Chase credit card.

You can apply for the Chase Freedom unlimited if you read a review.

13. Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard®

Reward for dining out is 2x American AAdvantage miles.

The first year of the card is free.

One of the better airline cards for restaurant spending is the Citi AAdvantage Platinum, it has no foreign transaction fees and you can earn 2x miles on dining around the world.

Apply for the Citi AAdvantage Platinum if you read a review of it.

14. Citi Custom Cash℠ Card

Reward for eating out.

There is a card annual fee.

This card offers 5x points in the category in which you spend the most each billing cycle, for up to $500 of spending; restaurants is one of those categories, meaning you can earn 5x points on dining purchases, and you can pool rewards with Citi Thank.

Apply for the Citi Custom Cash if you read a review of it.

Lots of personal cards offer great bonuses on dining

Best business cards for dining July 2022

There are a lot of personal credit cards for purchases at restaurants. Business cards are a common expense. There aren't as many good options as you'll find with personal cards, so let's look at the best business credit cards.

1. American Express® Business Gold Card

The reward for restaurant spending is 4x Amex Membership rewards points.

The card fee is $295 per year.

The U.S. restaurants is one of the bonus categories that the card offers 4x points in.

Apply for the Amex Business Gold if you read a review.

The reward for restaurant spending is 2x Amex Membership rewards points.

There is a card annual fee.

There is no bonus category for restaurants and the card has foreign transaction fees, so I wouldn't recommend using it.

Apply for the Amex Blue Business Plus if you read a review.

3. Capital One Spark Miles for Business

Capital One offers a reward for restaurant spending.

The first year of the card is free.

The card offers 2x Capital One miles on all purchases with no foreign transaction fees and is an excellent return.

You can apply for the spark miles for business by reading a review.

4. Hilton Honors American Express Business Card

6xHiltonHonors points is a reward for restaurant spending.

There is a card annual fee.

The bonus category is specific to U.S. restaurants and the card has no foreign transaction fees.

Read a review of the business before applying for it.

5. Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card

Marriott Bonvoy points are a reward for restaurant spending.

The card annual fee is $125.

The card has no foreign transaction fees and is one of the best hotel credit cards for restaurant purchases.

You can read a review of the Marriott Bonvoy Business.

6. UnitedSM Business Card

Reward for dining out is 2x United MileagePlus miles.

The card is free for the first year.

The card has no foreign transaction fees and is one of the best airline credit cards for restaurant purchases around the world.

Apply for the United Business if you read a review of it.

7. Ink Business Cash® Credit Card

2x points is a good reward for restaurant spending.

There is a card annual fee.

The Ink Business Cash offers 2x points on the first $25,000 spent per year on restaurants and gas stations if you have it in conjunction with a Chase card.

Apply for the Ink Business Cash if you read a review of it.

Some business cards offer bonus rewards for restaurants

Maximize value by using dining rewards programs

Restaurants can get extra business by offering points, miles, or cash back if you use a linked credit card for your purchases. Even if you don't live in a market that offers this, it can still be worth joining even if you don't live in a crowded city.

Dining rewards programs are available.

  1. Seated — This app serves major cities, and gives you $15-20 in gift cards (with your choice of Amazon, Starbucks, or Uber) every time you dine out at a participating restaurant
  2. Mogl — Mogl is mostly on the West Coast, and lets you choose between earning cash back, donating to a fundraiser, or converting your rewards to miles and points
  3. Rewards Network — This company partners with major loyalty programs to offer a co-branded dining rewards program; while you may be able to double-dip with Seated or Mogl, for Rewards Network you’ll have to choose whether each of your credit cards is linked to the dining rewards program for Alaska, American, Delta, Hilton, Southwest, or United, but you can participate in all of the programs (this is also a great way to keep miles from expiring!)
Rewards Network Dining Program for all Major Loyalty Programs

The above list might give a card for every budget preference. There are many options to choose from, from a no annual fee card earning 3% cash back, to a premium card earning 4x points, to name a few.

If you want to earn travel rewards for your personal dining spending, you really can't go wrong with one of the American Express, Chase, or Citigroup cards. If you want to earn simple cash back rewards with no annual fee, you can't go wrong with the Capital One SavorOne Cash rewards credit card.

Which credit card do you use?

The rates and fees can be found in the links. American Express® Business Gold Card, American Express® Gold Card, Blue Business® Plus Credit Card, and Marriott Bonvoy are included.

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